24 " A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
Luke 22:24-27
So this is something that has bothered me lately. It is one thing to watch worldly people act...well worldly, but then it astonishes me to watch "born again" believers act like Gentiles or as worldly people. When you don't submit to the Holy Spirit you are hindering the regeneration of your mind that enables you to truely see the Kingdom and operate in it accordingly.
One of the best books I’ve read was by Gregory Boyd called "The Myth of a Christian Nation". In it he talks about this passage from Luke 22 and discusses how the world's mentality of authority and leadership positions people over others, exercising rule and reign over them. He talks about how this mentality demands things from people and controls them through manipulation and fear. But clearly in scripture Jesus says that it would not be so with us, born again believers. He clearly states that the greatest among us would make himself the least, meaning someone who has true authority is one who would make himself a servant of all. Boyd also goes to say that the World maintains order through force while the Kingdom of God does it through love. Jesus did that on the cross. He brought order back to men and God through self-sacrifice in love!!!
Leadership in the Kingdom always looks like Jesus, always coming underneath people in love. Always serving, always loving.
A true leader.....
-is always provoking/leading people to do good by way of word and deed
-lets other people shine.
-always sacrifices for others.
-is always in a constant state of prayer
-is confident in what he knows, but doesn't claim to know everything
-is pure, in the fact he is the same at all times
-never claims to be the boss.
-is only after the praise of Heaven not the praise of man
-is not worried about titles.
-never has to say he's in charge, it is something people see about him
-is positioned and appointed by God not by men.
I could go on all day and I’m sure you could add some as well. But the main idea of this is that we cannot adopt the model of leadership from the world and use it in the Church, because it is carnally minded. If the Kingdom is going to be advanced in this day and time we need to do so upon the example, and most of all leadership of Christ. And this is going to take regeneration of our mind through the Spirit as well as a time of humbling. Because the bible says that the humble shall be exalted.
I challenge all of you who believe that God has placed you in a place of leadership to see if you are coming over ppl or coming under ppl. And to all of you who believe that God is raising you up to lead others , remember that your job is to lead people to Christ. They don't need to see you but Christ in you. So don't promote yourself or your ministry, but promote Christ. Display Christ and he will promote you and use you. No one wants to follow a so called leader who beats ppl with criticism, harsh words, and places fear in them. Rather they need someone who is full of grace and mercy, understanding and compassion. They need someone who has encountered Jesus.
This my friends is why many people have referred to our Heavenly Kingdom as the upside down Kingdom.
Leadership is simply one of those funny things. Mythology aside your list of traits is fairly good, but adages are sometimes bad if taken literally and as sacrosanct.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, not wanting a title is quite often a sign of a good leader, as in general people with ambition are selfishly motivated. I wouldn't be so quick to demonize being concerned about titles, or even obsessed with them. For example, the little kid who wants to be President for the sake of having a lot of power to do good.
There are also times when a leader has to assert authority and say they are in charge. Being a leader and doing what is best for those under you does not always mean they are going to along with it peaceably.
On the flip side, someone who takes 'appointed by God, not men' too literally might be incredibly suspect to the megalomania often associated with leadership. See our last President as a nice example of this.
The fact that self-sacrifice hit third on your list (which by any basic thought pattern approach to analytical psychological puts it as a highly prominent factor in your definition of a good leader) concerns me. The Christian mindset is often pushed to thinking about the qualities of meekness, humility, sacrifice, restraint, and hope. These are all incredibly passive qualities and promote an inbalance of weak, easily influenced people that are incredibly suspect to situations like the Branch Davidians. Especially in a leader, attempting to sacrifice too much often leads to less proper delegation, or even the refusal to let other people ever sacrifice. No man can do everything, and anyone who took 'always sacrifices for others' literally would find themselves in situations of being burned out.
Perhaps not quickly, and perhaps not permanently when it does happen, but it will happen. A burned out leader can be more hurtful than no leader at all.
That's my two pence upon reading, take it as you will.